At Transcription Centre we specialise in transcription of interviews, focus groups and speeches for academics and market researchers primarily in the UK.
Standard terms and conditions of our services are listed below. Contracts are between Transcription Centre (“Transcription Centre”, “we”, “us”, “our”) and the client (“the client”, “you”, “your”).
If you require a signed contract, please contact us to discuss.
DELIVERY OF TRANSCRIPTS
By uploading your audio to our system, you enter into a contract with Transcription Centre and agree to charges for the transcription of your files. Transcription rates will be agreed upon before work begins. Quoted turnaround times refer to working days (Monday to Friday), with delivery by 5:00 PM. Delivery earlier in the day or on weekends and public holidays may be arranged with our prior consent. Otherwise, we will move the delivery date to the next working day. We are not liable for any direct or indirect loss, damage, or expense that may arise from a delay in delivery.
For turnaround purposes, files uploaded outside of our standard office hours (including early closure on Fridays, weekends, or bank holidays) will be considered received on the next working day.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION
All work performed by us is confidential. Our employees have signed non-disclosure agreements. Audio files are encrypted during transfer through our online password-protected system, ScribeManager, which abide by stringent data protection procedures. We are registered and in compliance with the Data Protection Act.
Transcripts will be sent via ScribeManager; for digital safety, we recommend you choose the option for them not to be attached to emails. You will be alerted when the transcript is finished and prompted to download the files from our password-encrypted system.
Once finished, any audio files are securely deleted from our encrypted drives within 7 days. Finished transcripts stored on our encrypted drives are securely deleted after no longer than 30 days.
Finished transcripts and the audio files are available on ScribeManager for 67 days after the agreed delivery date. These files are only visible to our directors and the client to whom they belong.
Please note: An email will be sent by the system when the finished transcript is available for download. We recommend that you download and safely store your transcripts as soon as possible after you are notified. We are not responsible for any loss of data if you fail to download and securely store your transcripts within this 67-day period. After this time, we will not be able to retrieve them.
CONTRACTS
We are happy to sign client-provided agreements, but they must be finalised before we begin work. We will not sign any retrospectively dated agreements after work has commenced, and our standard terms will apply in such cases.
For further details on our GDPR compliance and what that means for you as a client please read our privacy and security policy.
PRICING
We charge per minute of audio. The system rounds up or down to the nearest minute (but files under 30 seconds count as one minute). Extra charges for poor audio quality, full verbatim, or multiple speakers will be discussed and confirmed with you before we begin. We are not responsible for delays caused by waiting for your confirmation on these charges. We reserve the right to reject any files where the audio is so poor that a usable transcript cannot be produced. We will let you know if this is the case upon assessment after upload.
If you are an existing client and have already agreed on terms with us, we will only contact you for confirmation if there are any extra charges above the usual rate.
We can provide estimates for quoting purposes given enough information (length, quality, number of speakers, turnaround time), but we will only be able to give firm, final prices upon receipt of the audio files. Estimates are valid for eight weeks.
Our minimum invoice value is £35.
PAYMENT
Invoices are sent upon delivery of transcripts or by the end of the working month and are payable by credit card or bank transfer within 15 days of the invoice date.
For new clients, we may request upfront payment on the first job before agreeing to begin any further work. Work for solicitors will be charged on receipt of the audio and will not begin until payment has cleared in our account. This will be communicated upon receipt of the audio.
All transactions must be in GBP unless otherwise agreed in writing before work commences.
All quotes and charges are UK VAT exempt.
We do not accept payment by cheque.
REFUND POLICY
No refunds are available after work has commenced, unless previously agreed in writing by Transcription Centre. If you are not satisfied with the work delivered, we will endeavour to edit the transcript to your satisfaction at no extra charge*.
*Extra charges will be applied if the transcript needs to be edited to/from full verbatim or transferred between templates due to an error made by the client on filling out the upload form. We can produce the same document on two templates for an extra charge to cover the time needed to perform this.
NATURE OF FILES ACCEPTED
We work primarily with academics and market researchers but welcome all kinds of clients. Please note that for ethical and legal reasons, we reserve the right to refuse audio files from covert recordings or police interviews. We cannot certify transcripts for use in court proceedings.
CREDIT ACCOUNTS
We can accept forward payments for transcription and/or proofreading work not yet ordered. We will share a live spreadsheet with you so you can see your remaining credit at any point. Credit for transcription work can be used for proofreading work and vice versa.
Any credit applied to your account will expire after 12 months from payment unless otherwise agreed beforehand. Extensions will be subject to an annual administration charge of 2% of the balance or £100, whichever is larger. This fee will be taken off the balance on September 1st annually and marked clearly on the shared spreadsheet.
PROOFREADING OF ARTICLES/THESES
Our standard turnaround time is one working week from the date of submission. This may be extended if the proofreading work required is more extensive than initially anticipated, and we will communicate any potential delay to you as early as possible.
Submissions from individuals must be accompanied by an official purchase order (PO) from their institution or paid for in advance if unfunded. Work will commence only after we have received the PO or payment.
An edited copy of the article/thesis will be sent with tracked changes and comments via email where possible. Larger files will be sent by WeTransfer (or any suitable portal you stipulate).
We offer no guarantee that the changes we suggest will mean your article/thesis will be approved for publication or acceptance.
ACADEMIC AND ETHICAL POLICY
Our services are strictly limited to editing, proofreading, and formatting to enhance clarity, grammar, and style. We do not engage in academic ghostwriting, substantive rewriting, or research assistance.
All work we perform is intended to support the author's original academic content. We will not add or remove material that changes the core arguments, ideas, or data presented in the text. We cannot undertake tasks that would compromise the originality and authorship of your work, such as:
Substantive rewriting to improve academic tone or flow. While we will correct grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, we will not restructure your arguments or rewrite entire sections.
Significantly reducing word count. Our editing may involve trimming redundant phrases, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to reduce the word count to a specific target. Substantial word count reduction requires an author to remove content and condense their own arguments.
Adding or altering references and citations. We will note where a citation may be missing or an entry is incorrectly formatted, but we will not add or change any citations for you.
By using our services, you confirm that your work is your own and that our editing will not be presented as anything other than a professional refinement of your original text. We reserve the right to decline any work that we believe may compromise our ethical standards or a client's academic integrity.
We recommend that you read your institution’s policy on editorial assistance before engaging a proofreading/light copyediting service.